Brassiere



Dec. 18, 1951 VAN LEUVEN, JR 2,578,954

BRASSIERE Filed Dec 23, 1946 INVENTOR. KARL VANLEUl E J2.-

F gAg A TTORNE Y Patented Dec. 18, 1951 BRASSIERE Karl Van Leuven, Jr., Hollywood, Calif., assignor to Ina Yoakum, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application December 23, 1946, Serial No. 717,941

Claims.

This invention relates to breast supports and deals more particularly with a brassire.

A general object of the invention is to provide a brassire more particularly adapted for use with low cut dresses, play suits or swim suits, providing proper support for only the under portion of the breasts whereby unnatural binding is obviated and the upper chest, including the upper breast portions, remains resilient and soft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brassire of the type indicated, which is adapted to be constructed as a, separate garment or be embodied in and as part of play suits, swim suits and halter-type garments.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brassire having separate, similar, but opposite- 1y formed breast-engaging cup portions, and interconnecting said cup portions by means of generally stiff yet bendable and resilient means whereby a desired separation of the breasts can be made by a suitable adjustment of the. baton connecting means- Another object of the invention is to provide a brassiere, as indicated, having shoulder-supporting straps which are attached to the breast-engaging cups at the ends of the mentioned cup interconnecting means, whereby the pull of the straps is exerted on a generally rigid part to obviate distortion of the brassiere, and whereby the straps pass over the shoulder along the normal seams between the dress and its sleeves, if any, to be hidden by said seams.

My invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working positionand easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawings merely show and the following description merely describes embodiments of the present invention, which are given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a,front perspective view of a shouldersupported brassire in use.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken front view, in flat condition, of the left-hand breast-supporting cup.

Fig. 3 is a further enlarged cross-sectional view as taken on the line 3-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 isa front perspective view of an alternate form of brassire for embodiment in a garment.

The brassiere which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises, generally, a pair of identical but oppositely formed breast-supporting cups in, a

back-engaging extension II integrally formed with each cup ill, a shoulder strap l2 for each cup, wire means l3 inter-connecting the cups at the middle of the body between the breasts, and a pro-formed stiifener insert M for each cup.

The construction of Fig. 4 is similar except for the omission of the extensions H inasmuch as the brassire shown is intended for incorporation in a garment, as stated.

With particular reference to Figs. 2 and 3, the cup is formed of an outer piece of fabric l5 to have a lower edge It designed to circumferentially follow the meeting line of the breast and the body. The upper edge ll of said piece of fabric is shaped to extend along a generally horizontal medial line of the breast whereby the cup covers only the lower portion of the breast, The edges l6 and I! meet at a point [8. eorresponding to a point adjacent to the middle of the body. The fabric piece l5, opposite to the point i8, is extended laterally and somewhat downwardly to form the back-engaging extension H.

The cup Ill further includes an inner fabric piece 19 which may be made of felted material and have the same shape as the fabric piece l5 except for the extension I I. The fabric pieces, except for the extension II, are co-extensive and are secured along the edge portions as by a line of stitching 20 to form a pocket 2! for the stiffener l4.

The strap 12 conventionally comprises an adjustable ribbon secured at points 22 and 22a at the side edges of the cup I 0 and adjacent the end of extension II, respectively. As shown, the ribbon is extended as at 23 along the inner portion of the lower edge It of the cup to terminate at the point I8. Spaced lines of stitching 24 secure the ribbon part 23 in place and form an elongated pocket 25 between the cup fabric parts l5 and I!) for the wire means l3.

The wire means [3 comprises a single length of preferably enamel covered wire which is inherently stiff and. yet capable of being bent and hav ing limited resiliency or springiness. The wire means is formed to have curved end portions 26 residing in the pocket 25 of each cup and each terminating adjacent the point 22 of each respective cup it. Each end portion 26 is reversely bent at ill near the point [8 of each cup and then formed in a curved loop 28 which passes out of the pocket 25 through an opening 29 provided in the fabric piece 15. The two loops 28, have their ends 30 directed downwardly and toward each other to be integrally joined as at 3|.

By means of the above-outlined construction, the breasts are supported from beneath, the wire ends 26 provide a rigid yet formable means for defining the shape of the breasts, the loops 28 afford resilience, providing for variable alignmerit of the breast-supporting cups, and. the

straps have their pull applied at the outer sides of the cups and at the ends of the wire so that they pass. around rather than over the breasts and are thereby widely spaced for low neckline garments.

The inserts [4 are provided for molding the breasts so they have spherical form. Said inserts reside in pockets 2| and are preferably formed of laminated gauze impregnated with cellulose dissolved in acetone. Being thermoplastic, said inserts are adapted to'be pre-formed to be curved both longitudinally and transversely and are, therefore, quite stiff yet resonably pliable. The lower edge 32 of each insert generally follows the curvature of edge IS. The opposite edge 33, however, is concavely curved to leave each cup 1 D with a quite soft and pliable crescent shaped part 34 at the upper part thereof.

It will be noted that the curved loops 28 are disposed to have overlapping relation to the adjacent parts of the cups i9, and it will be evident that said loops bear against the outer surfaces of said cups to separate them. As seen best in Fig. 2 the inserts l receive this resilient pressure, and, because of their stiffness, are urged bodily laterally to thereby effect desired separation of the breasts. In this manner the wire means I3 and the inserts l4 cooperate to resiliently support the breasts in any desired degree of separation.

The brassiere shown in Fig. 4 is substantially similar to the form above described, except that the extensions l l and straps I2 are omitted and instead of the described connecting part for the wire ends 2'6, said connecting part is formed as a simple straight connection 1'25. The outer ends of the wire ends 26 are formed as hooks 35 engaged in eyelets 3'! and the wire is thereby held against endwise displacement. By slipping said hooks 36' through the eyelets, the wire can be removed for laundering of the cups. By sewing this brassiere into a garment, the mentioned advantages are obtained. 7

Only the essentials of the brassire have been disclosed. Conventional tapes and stitching may be employed where desired to finish off the garment. Also, suitable lines of stitching maybe passed through the outer and inner fabric pieces and the stiffener M to unify the construction.

While I have illustrated and described what I now regard as the preferred embodiments of my invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I, therefore, do not wish to restrict myself to the particular forms of construction illustrated and described, but desire to avail myself of all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A brassire comprising a pair of separately formed breast-supporting and stiffened cups each having an elongated pocket extending along the lower edge thereof, and an integral length of wire connecting the cups and comprising ends arranged in said pockets and a re-entrantly bent portion connecting said wire ends and formed with laterallyv and oppositely directed loops, said loops having overlapping engagement with the forward outer side of the cups to bear against and yieldingly separate the same.

2. A brassiere comprising a pair of separate breast-supporting and stiffened cups each having an elongated pocket extending along the lower edge thereofQthe pocket of each cup, atthe end adjacent to the other cup, having a forwardly directed opening, and wire means connecting the cups, said Wire means comprising curved lengths thereof residing in the mentioned pockets and extending substantially throughout the length of each said pocket, said Wire lengths having ends that are adjacent, an integral reversely bent portion on each said adjacent end and extending to engage only the under portions of the breasts,

and means to connect the cups comprising an integral length of wire having a portion extending between and connecting the cups and having end portions generally following and reinforcing the bottom edges of the cups and terminating at opposite sides of the brassiere, the adjacent ends of the cups being each provided with a forwardly directed opening, the mentioned cup-connecting wire portion extending from the adjacent ends of the end portions of the wire through said forwardly directed openings to the forward outer side of the cups, said cup-connecting wire portion being provided with laterally and oppositely directed parts in overlapping engagement with the forward outer faces of the adjacent ends of the cups to bear against and spread the cups apart.

4. A brassiere according to claim 3 in which the cups are each stiffened by a pre-formed doubly curved stiffener insert arranged to mold the portions of the breasts supported by the cups, said inserts having portions residing in the portions of the cups that are adjacent and beneath the outer' faces thereof, whereby the laterally and oppositely directed parts of the cup-connecting wire portion bear on said inserts through said cup faces.

5. A brassiere according to claim 3 in which the cups are each stiffened by a pro-formed doubly curved stiffener insert arranged to mold the portions of the breasts supported by the cups, said inserts having portions residing in the portions of the cups that are adjacent and beneath the outer faces thereof, whereby the laterally and oppositely directed parts of the cup-connecting wire portion bear on'said inserts through said cup faces, and a shoulder strap connected to each cup at the terminations of the end portions of the cup-connecting means at the opposite ends of the brassiere, whereby said brassiere issupported only at said opposite ends and the breasts are resiliently supported by the cup-connecting portion that extends between the cups.

KARL VAN LEUVEN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 494,397 Tucek Mar. 28, 1893 1,009,297 Gabeau -Nov. 21, 1911 2,061,402 Hollar Nov. 17,1936 2,391,417 Hill Dec. 25, 1945 2,420,593 Gluckin May 13, 194.! 

